Experts Call for National Water ATM Policy to enable affordable Safe Drinking Water to All

In the run-up to World Water Day, JanaJal introduces a unique water station called OHIYA for SMEs and large corporate houses

The national Water ATM Policy should focus on technology upgradation of existing decentralized water purification plants to enable their remote monitoring and management, and encourage a services approach rather than a hardware approach for efficient operations and maintenance

Government should leverage existing decentralized safe water distribution infrastructure supported by implementation of a unified IT platform to boost social entrepreneurship and for job creation

NEW DELHI March 14, 2019: Experts have called upon the central government to draft a national water ATM policy aimed at the adoption of state-of-the-art IoT technology and a services approach rather than a hardware approach to optimize the operations of millions of decentralized but under-utilized water purification plants spread across the country. This, they argued, is critical to effectively meet the challenge of providing safe and affordable drinking water for the masses, especially in rural areas.

Talking about the importance of technology enablement of decentralized water purification plants in the run up to the World Water Day, Parag Agarwal, Founder & CMD of Indias premier water services company JanaJal, said: Millions of manual water purification plants exist in India, set up by state governments, charitable foundations, NGOs, philanthropists and under CSR initiatives of corporate to meet drinking water needs of the urban and rural masses. However, proper management of these systems post commissioning is missing. Almost all of them are currently under-utilized in terms of capacity, or are simply not operational. This is due to lack of consistency in their operations and absence of lifecycle management, which in turn leads to un-reliability and lack of operational viability, thereby creating a trust deficit in the minds of consumers. Because of a lack of attention to services in the existing water infrastructure, bottled water has become the order of the day. However less than 5% of Indians can afford such expensive packaged water on a sustainable basis.”

He added: The need of the hour is to adopt a unified technology backbone for remote monitoring and management of existing water infrastructure and graduate from a hardware approach to a services approach for consistent supervision and management. The Government of India must view water treatment plants as very valuable critical infrastructure instead of just RO plants. The need to introduce a national water ATM policy and guidelines for implementation will help state governments to deliver the vision. This will expedite their ability to make safe drinking water available to people at an affordable price and bridge the much-widened gap between demand and supply. Harnessing existing water infrastructure that is grossly under-utilized also eliminates the need to invest fresh capital in setting up new ones.

Said Parag Agarwal: In the absence of a unified technology backbone, it is impossible to monitor the functioning of millions of water purification systems spread across the country. It is important to closely supervise and manage water treatment plants as they constantly require operations and maintenance support. The real-time monitoring of these systems is crucial for achieving qualitative and quantitative efficiency besides pre-emptive maintenance. Increased efficiency in the operation of water purification plants can be the largest contributor to not only health and wellness but also boost the GDP of the country.

A unified technology platform that connects all water purification systems and water ATMs in India holds the key to solving Indias safe drinking water crisis. The location-wise consumption data gathered in real-time will also help concerned departments and government agencies at all levels in better water management and overall planning. Digital payments also ease the transacting process and consumers enjoy a transparent seamless experience while collecting safe water.

OHIYA Water Station

In the run-up to the World Water Day 2019, JanaJal has launched a unique water station called OHIYA. Announcing the launch, Parag Agarwal, Founder & CMD, JanaJal, said, OHIYA is a water station which will offer an environment friendly substitute for consumption of water from plastic containers and jars. It is not just another water dispenser; rather it is a paradigm shift in procurement and consumption of enriched, safe and clean drinking water, be it at offices, industrial facilities, restaurants, schools, hospitals or homes. Every OHIYA water station delivers alkaline water with minimum pH level 8 that is ideal for hydration and will be initially available for deployment in Delhi-NCR, Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat and will be available across the country in a few months.

OHIYA ensures online access to qualitative and quantitative monitoring at the user level as well through real-time connectivity at JanaJal Central Control room. Powered with real-time matrix modules, OHIYA can also maintain a record of every individuals daily hydration levels which can be accessed and measured for an enterprise or household through cloud technology. Pre-emptive maintenance tracking allows for timely replacement of filters, cartridges and consumables, thereby ensuring consistency in the quality of water delivered.

OHIYAs enhanced Digital UX empowers consumers with higher visibility and creates an impact delivered through customized and secure 7-inch touch-screen. This interface enables broadcast of corporate films and initiatives and of course, dispensing of enriched safe chilled water. Besides, HR related communication and social messaging can be broadcasted across multiple water stations simultaneously within a corporate environment creating the much-desired positive impact on the minds of users.

Other Key Features

Complete responsibility of maintenance and replacement of consumables throughout the term of installation by the company.

Helps conserve water through efficient use of water treatment technology.

Dispensing capacity of up to 600 liters per OHIYA water station per day

Pre-emptive maintenance alerts

Dedicated technical support for single premises with minimum 100 water stations

About JanaJal:

JanaJal is a social enterprise and the flagship initiative of the Supremus Group that aims to provide clean and safe drinking water at public places like Railway Stations, Bus Stands, Hospitals, Schools, Religious Places, Village Panchayats, towns, cities, metros and Smart City projects. Safe water is available 24X7 through JanaJal Units at an affordable price that primarily helps recover costs such as capital expenditure, water treatment, chilling and maintenance of the system. For more information, visit www.janajal.com